Regulation and Competition Radio Spectrum Policy and Management A Turning Point?

Growing requirements on radio spectrum usage have led, in the last decade, to a search for greater technical and economic efficiency. However, some point to a conflict between achieving economies of scale through technical standardisation- which requires rigid ties between frequency band, service(s), and technology(ies)- on the one hand and, on the other, achieving efficiency through increased flexibility by relaxing those ties, and by allowing the existence of diverse technologies, and possibly services, on the same frequency bands. Predominant in the debate has been the idea that granting extended property rights over the radio spectrum was the prerequisite for more efficient usage. In this sense, the introduction of new services and technologies (mobile, for instance), and management of the newly reorganised portions of the spectrum, have been influenced above all by a pervasive market paradigm. It translates into the extension of property rights and the corresponding payments- namely fees for frequency usage an